Abstract This paper discusses the beliefs and philosophies of the rhetorical theorist Mikhail Bakhtin. Amongst the ideas examined are Bakhtin's belief that everything ideological possesses a meaning which is indicated by a sign and how he unified physical utterance and the written word. The author also identifies which of Saussure's ideas Bakhtin accepted and which he rejected.
From the Paper "Mikhail Bakhtin, in his rhetoric, mixes literary criticism with rhetoric, following in the footsteps of Saussure and others in this regard. At the same time, Bakhtin rejected many of Saussure's ideas, such as that "the meaning of discourse is to be found in the psychological processing of signs" (911). Saussure's approach is also known as Structuralism and has been applied to a wide variety of forms of human communication. In literary criticism, for instance, the Structuralist approach owes much to linguistic studies and to ideas about language in general. Bakhtin in his literary criticism rejected the distinction between literary and ordinary language and so attacked the existing Russian Formalist school. The Formalists sought to isolate the text, while Bakhtin did not."
Abstract Finds that the sole purpose of TV shows is to create messages. Discusses the role of TV as an instrument to present things to people, Bakhtin's theory and situational comedies, such as "Cheers," "Seinfeld", and "The Simpsons."
From the Paper "Facts, shmacts! Don't worry about facts Lisa. People can use facts to prove anything. Forget facts and listen to Daddy." (Homer J. Simpson, 1990) This paper will maintain..."
Abstract The paper discusses how Mikhail Bakhtin contended that all novels conclude without a definitive closure and that traditional endings are not compromised or reconciled for the reader. Bakhtin further stipulates that novels do instead provide conflicts at the end that produce no correct or incorrect resolution. The writer examines how, in the case of "Jane Eyre", for example, one reader may not agree with the choices that she has ultimately made, and therefore, there can be no resolved issues for that reader.
Abstract This paper analyzes the general concept of resistance and resistance to dictatorial regimes in southern Europe, with an emphasis on Spain under Franco and Greece in the 1960s and 1970s. It does this by examining three works: Mikis Theodorakis's "Journals of Resistance"; Sharon Roseman's "How We Built the Road: The Politics of Memory in Rural Galicia"; and Karen Van Dyck's "Power, Language and the Discourses of Dictatorship."
From the Paper "Understanding resistance also means asking what constitutes an act of resistance in such regimes. Roseman in particular examines this issue. In "How We Built the Road...", she considers the ways in which Spanish Galicians reconstruct history on a local level (through folklore, etc.) in response to state attempts to bring the citizenry under control. In doing so, she invokes Reed-Danahay's concept of d"brouillardise. "Acts of d"brouillardise,? she states, "often involve both partial accomodations and resistance to externally imposed material conditions and cultural meanings." (Roseman 1996, 837) It is questionable whether those who employ this "technique", which can be loosely translated as "muddling through", ought to be seen as active resistors. Alternately, we can understand their "resistance" as passive, or, as Roseman argues, acts may be reconstructed later as acts of resistance though they may not have been conceived of in this way at the time."
Abstract This paper provides an analysis of Maya Lin's controversial design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, including support for and against her intention and eventual design. The paper explains how Lin's memorial demonstrates the changing nature of public monuments.
From the Paper "Designed by Maya Lin, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial represents a controversial memorial that demonstrates the changing nature of public monuments, their goals and their audiences. The post-Vietnam War era has witnessed a change in the way audiences read memorials. Both critics and audiences now read memorials of war in a more active and critical manner. The Vietnam War challenged the very nature of American patriotism and the relationship between individual and state."
Tags:Bakhtin, Haas, Washington, D.C., patriotism, meaning, somber, dignity, sadness, military conflict, war, dead, grieving
